title: Cerebellar growth in very low birth weight infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess cerebellar growth of very low birth weight infants from birth to discharge and compare it with term infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Very low birth weight infants were matched by gender, adequacy of weight to gestational age at birth and postmenstrual ages at hospital discharge to term newborns. Exclusion criteria were central nervous system malformation, peri-intraventricular hemorrhage, cerebellar hemorrhage and meningitis. Transverse cerebellar diameter was measured by cranial ultrasound at birth and at hospital discharge in cases, and at birth in matched controls. Very low birth weight infants had magnetic resonance imaging done in the first year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cerebellar growth was similar in very low birth weight infants without periventricular leukomalacia and controls, and smaller in cases with periventricular leukomalacia than in controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that cerebellar growth is normal in the absence of supratentorial injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Newborn Section, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, and Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jaeger
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Procianoy
mesh_terms: D002531:Cerebellum / Q000254:growth & development*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000503:physiopathology